Down With the Ship
by yesimahuman
Summary: President Thomas Wilson knew exactly what he was going to do on Doomsday.


Down With It All

"So the Titanic sank," Clara Wilson said, "and most of the people that were still on board drowned."

The boy frowned in confusion. He had asked his mother to explain the story of the Titanic to him before he went to bed. His mother had laughed, telling him that it wasn't exactly a bedtime story, but he didn't care. "Ma, what about the captain?" he asked, "didn't the captain live?"

"The captain died too, Thomas," the boy's mother explained. "He went down with his ship."

As his mother reached down to tuck him into bed, Thomas Wilson scratched his head. "Now, why would he do something as stupid as that? He's the captain! Couldn't he have just jumped off when his ship started sinking?"

Clara laughed, stroking Thomas' cheek. "But that's just the thing, Thomas. It's _his _ship."

The eight year-old shrugged. "So?" he said, "so what? What's the difference if it's his ship or not?"

"Everything," the boy's mother said, "One day, you'll understand."

As Clara Wilson left the room, the future President of the United States was still perplexed. He hated it when people told him that he would understand _later._ He wanted to understand _now._

When Thomas Wilson finally learned his lesson, he was glad that he had even learned it at all.

xxx

"Sir, with all due respect, this is madness!" Thomas Wilson shouted, keeping pace with the General. "You can't do this!"

General Armstrong's eyes flashed. "Last time I checked, Mr. Wilson, you were my _aide, _and not my father."

The office of General Zacharias Armstrong was currently facing a crisis. More specifically, one of General Armstrong's staff was facing a crisis.

"Sir, I repeat, you _cannot _do this. It can- no, it _will, _considering today's media- do irreparable harm to your public image," Wilson breathed, "and I will _not _stand by as you offer your body to the piranhas that we call reporters."

The respect that Thomas Wilson held for his superior could not be measured. Zacharias Armstrong was in his mid-forties. He had climbed to the position of Commander of all armed forces in the Middle East by working hard and basically scaring the shit out of the current President with his efficiency, intelligence, and general "I'm going to get this fucking job done, and you better believe it," attitude. He had been promoted rather quickly.

When Wilson had joined the general's staff, he had noticed something odd about the other employees' attitudes. When he had served on some other Washington teams, he had certainly observed varying levels of respect among his coworkers towards their superior, but this was ridiculous. The way Armstrong's team addressed him, the look in their eyes, the way they bowed their heads slightly when they walked passed him- it all bordered on the reverent.

Thomas Wilson soon discovered why.

Zacharias Armstrong would get the job done. There were no questions asked. There was no inquiring how, or why. The mission would be accomplished. There would be no casualties on the side, there would be no messy clean-up, and most of all, there would be no bungled mission. Armstrong commanded his troops with such efficiency and authority that it was of little mystery _why _his aides almost treated him like a god.

Thomas Wilson soon jumped on board the train of Armstrong's followers- and this was why he was so surprised with himself that he was _arguing _with Zacharias Armstrong, and it was also why he felt it was completely necessary to do so.

"Sir, to the public, you're _invincible_," Wilson said, pressing on. "We can't agree to let you do this."

Armstrong didn't stop walking, but his eyebrows jumped up in surprise. "We?" he asked.

"The staff doesn't want you to do this. Jackson _himself _doesn't want you-"

"You can keep arguing with me, Mr. Wilson, it won't change a thing," Armstrong said, "I don't care what my staff thinks, last time I checked, I was their superior, and _not _the other way around."

Wilson glanced down the hallway they were traversing. Only a couple more doors down. Damn!

Quickly, Wilson took a large step forward and barred Armstrong's path. The General's eyes widened in surprise, and after he recovered from his shock, he began to chuckle.

"I've _never _seen an aide bar his superior's path before," he said, wiping tears of laughter from his eye, "and I never thought that it would be one of mine. Looks like you got over your inferiority complex, eh?"

Wilson looked Armstrong straight in the eye. "Sir, my respect for you is in no way diminished. I implore you- not as an aide, but as a friend- to reconsider. Please, Zacharias."

"Mr. Wilson," Armstrong said, "on the battlefield, I have two responsibilities- the lives of my soldiers and the lives of civilians. This is a responsibility that every general should share. And off of the battlefield, every general should carry another responsibility as well- the lives of his subordinates and colleagues."

"Sir," Wilson said quietly, "it's a goddamn sex scandal. The public is clamoring for Jackson's removal from 'Mr. Invincible Armstrong's' team. There will be a _hell _to pay if you stand by him. I repeat, Jackson wants to accept full responsibility for this. He doesn't _want _your help!"

Armstrong stood up straight, his six-foot-three stature towering over Wilson. The four black star embroidered on his shirt were painfully obvious to the aide.

"Mr. Wilson," Armstrong said, "do you know why a captain doesn't abandon ship? It's because that ship is his responsibility, and right now, Mr. Jackson is _my _responsibility. If you think that I'm going to abandon him you can burn in hell and if you try to stop me I'll run you over. Mr. Jackson made a mistake, and it was a serious one, but we're only human. I'm certainly disappointed in Mr. Jackson- but I will _not _let this ruin him."

Thomas Wilson watched in awe as Armstrong strode into the pressroom to make the announcement that he was going to stand by his aide through the scandal.

xxx

The moment Adrian Helmsley told President Wilson the bad news, the President made up his mind.

He would be the last man in America to board those arks.

Two years later, the moment Adrian Helmsley told President Wilson the worse news, the President knew.

He would die with the rest of America.

xxx

_America._

An ash cloud, spewed from the mouth of hell itself, raced towards Washington, engulfing it.

_Land of the free and home of the brave._

"Today we are one family," he had assured his country. And if that was true, then they would not leave each other, because a family held steadfast, even through the end of the world.

_Today, it ends._

As Thomas Wilson prayed in the Washington chapel, his conviction was tested. Would he leave the rest of America behind? _Could _he? Should he join the rest of the world's leaders to start the new world? Should he _run?_

And as Carl Anheuser entered the room, his resolve, having been tested, was as strong- no, even stronger- than ever.

Thomas Wilson was not going to run.

_E Pluribus Unum. From Many, One._ _One family that will fall together on this day. _

The ash cloud hit Washington. Air Force One had left long ago, and now, Thomas Wilson knew that any hope of survival had flown away with it.

_I'm sorry, my daughter. One day, you'll understand._

The Washington Monument crumbled. Wilson almost laughed.

_If the Apocalypse thinks that it can break America's spirit by destroying its monuments, it's wrong. If the Apocalypse believes that it can break _humanity, _it's _wrong. _I put my faith in you, Mr. Helmsely. Don't let humanity die._

A tsunami loomed over America's capital, and Thomas Wilson knew that the end was here. He looked around at the fallen people surrounding him.

_My people. My family._

He looked at the broken city around him.

_ My country. My responsibility._

Death was knocking at America's door.

My_ ship._

America was Thomas Wilson's ship, and he was not going to abandon it. Death had opened the door, and now it was stepping inside.

_And if you think that I'm going to abandon it, then you can burn in hell._

The tsunami crashed into Washington, killing every person still occupying the city. The rest of the nation followed suit in a similar fashion.

And when America died, the ghosts of the founding fathers- the souls of the people that had died on December 21, 2012- took comfort from the fact that Wilson had not abandoned ship.

It meant the entire world to them.

Review, Please. Down there.


End file.
